We have been hosting representatives of the ChildLine India Foundation for the last couple of days on this their first working visit to the Esther Benjamins Trust in Kathmandu. Two of them, Kelvin and Komal, I had liaised with before on previous visits to India. They are still smarting following a joint attempt with us at circus rescue last summer that ended in defeat, with the team encountering a devious scoundrel of a circus owner who had protected himself well through links with the local authorities in that particular area. These two are as determined as we are that this should not be the end of the matter for that circus and nor should the failure be repeated elsewhere. To that end and to chart out the way ahead they brought with them a Delhi-based barrister, Nandita, who will be supporting the team. The very passionate Nandita is sharp as a razor and her emotions were fired up by meeting the children at our refuge who, well rehabilitated, were able to talk with her objectively (and even to her surprise with humour) about their experiences.
Yesterday morning we had a round table meeting with field staff, Trust office staff (who include two former circus girls), our own organisation's lawyer and two parents whose children are still languishing inside the circus. The purpose was mainly for the ChildLine India team to gain an understanding of how children are trafficked (from the parents' accounts), what they can expect once inside the circus (gleaned from the two former circus girls) and the historical difficulties experienced in rescue (from the field team). With my Welsh friend Duane Clifford-Jones, who is fluent in Nepali and Hindi, translating the exchange was quite electric and highly informative.
So often I have written sympathetically in our charity literature that agents prey upon the ignorant and naive parents of the children. The two who came to us yesterday were cases in point. However as Duane extracted from one of them (with great sensitivity) what had happened I felt a very different emotion. He told how he had pretty well handed over his daughter without even any financial transaction having taken place or paperwork. Two years later, and having heard nothing of his 12 year old daughter in the interim, he was feeling that he had made a mistake. Naivety and ignorance is one thing but this was just plain stupid and irresponsible, and for what he has visited upon his daughter he really deserves a good slapping. After the two parents had given their evidence we excused them from the meeting while we discussed the prevalence of sexual abuse within the Indian circuses.
Following yesterday's meeting we have agreed to launch another rescue mission, with the proper legal and networking backup, within the next two to three weeks, most likely on a major circus in Mumbai.
